Boy Scouts of America Troop 242 of Gardena Buddhist Church proudly announces and congratulates three scouts who recently attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
An Eagle Court of Honor ceremony was held in July at Gardena Buddhist Church in its newly renovated Social Hall to recognize Tyler Tanaka, Brent Nakanishi and Ethan Tanaka as Troop 242’s newest Eagle Scouts.
Eagle Scout is the highest rank one can achieve in the BSA Scouting Program, with only 4-6% of scouts earning this distinguished rank. The scout must progress through six ranks, actively hold the Life Scout rank for at least six months, and earn a minimum of 21 merit badges (including 13 Eagle required badges). Merit badges earned beyond the required 21 may qualify for Eagle Palms.
Three required merit badges have a three-month duration – Personal Fitness, Personal Management and Family Life. The scout must serve six months in a troop leadership position; plan, develop and provide leadership to others in a service project benefiting their local community; take part in a scoutmaster conference; and finally, complete an Eagle Scout character board of review with the District Council.
The commemoration included a warm-hearted video speech by Paul Nitake, the principal of North High School in Torrance.
Through the BSA Scouting Program, where they learned dedication, commitment and endurance, these three scouts have gained leadership, organizational and community skills that will guide them in a lifetime of service. All three scouts started in Cub Scout Pack 1230 and 862 and attained the rank of Eagle Scout in Troop 242.
Brent Kaoru Nakanishi is a graduate of North High School, Class of 2026 and will be attending UC Santa Barbara in September.
In high school, he served on the boards of the Japanese Club and HOSA (Future Health Professionals) and was also active in the Korean Club, California Scholarship Federation, service club J’s and V’s, and played volleyball all four years, including two years on the varsity team.
Brent received an academic achievement award in math and scholarships from Lincoln Elementary PTSA, Sansei Baseball, and Torrance Education Foundation, and was named VFW Scout of the Year.
In addition to his academic GPA of 4.55, he tutored elementary school children, was the scorekeeper for girls’ volleyball, played Club Volleyball for two years and was a volleyball referee for two years.
Brent’s major will be biopsychology with the intent to go premed.
Brent’s scouting journey started in kindergarten and was one of the first members of Pack 1230 at the Gardena Buddhist Church upon re-chartering. He bridged over to Boy Scout Troop 242 in the 5th grade. He has served as a Scribe, Den Chief for Pack 1230, Patrol Leader, ASPL, SPL and Jr Assistant Scoutmaster. He is also an Angler instructor for the Pacifica District.
His most memorable moment was going on his first hike with the troop’s hike master, who said they were going on a three-mile easy hike, which ended up being a seven-mile trek in Big Bear. Brent learned the hard way that you had to be prepared for the unexpected – if Mr. Hirabayashi said it was three miles, he had to be ready for seven miles, and if Mr. Hirabayashi said it would be five miles, he had to be ready for nine miles.
The best part about all his years in Boy Scouts was that he shared struggles with his best friend and now they can look back on it and laugh.
For his Eagle Project, Brent wanted to give back to his high school and leave a Troop 242 legacy. He rebuilt seven redwood planter boxes in the environmental sustainability area of campus.
From a parents’ perspective – scouting has given Brent the chance to grow and become a confident, kind, trustworthy and intelligent young man who exudes the Scout Law. His leadership and adventurous attitude have a quiet resilience.
Tyler Bao Hoa Tanaka currently attends CSU Long Beach and is a graduate of North High School, Class of 2024.
In high school, Tyler was an active member of California Scholarship Federation, National Honors Society and North High School Sports Medicine. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2024, received the Troop 242 Kade Kurita Memorial Scout of the Year Award, received the VFW Post 3670 Scout of the Year Award, NHS Academic Achievement Awards in social science, English, service to school and community (junior and senior years) and also earned the California Seal of Civic Engagement.
His current field of study is kinesiology (the study of human body movement, including exercise science and physical therapy).
Tyler’s scouting journey started in 2013 as a Cub Scout Tiger with Pack 862. He has served as assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, senior patrol leader, and junior assistant scoutmaster.
For his Eagle Project, he constructed two metal shade pergolas in Gardena Buddhist Church’s Social Hall patio, where many events and gatherings are held. In recent times, it has been getting significantly warmer and even the mornings have become uncomfortable. Temple leadership told him that the heat is a problem since there isn’t any shade over the benches. The pergola covers the benches to provide shade and makes the patio area usable.
Tyler has a catalog of memories from around California with long-lasting friendships that he hopes will continue to last. His most unforgettable scouting memory stems from an opportunity that came after he became an Eagle Scout. Greater Los Angeles Eagle Scouts have the unique opportunity to walk in the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade and be a banner carrier for award winning floats. From weekly practices on a track at a high school to their luncheons, that was one of the best 5.5 miles Tyler ever walked. He was lucky enough to make friends who were the same height prior to his first practices, and he was able to have fun and enjoy the parade with good company.
Without scouting in his life, he would never have had such amazing experiences and networked with so many amazing people. couting is truly a gift that not many other organizations can provide.
Ethan Bao Long Tanaka is currently a senior at North Torrance High School, where he is active in the Marching Band, California Scholarship Federation and National Honors Society. At church, he is an active member of the Junior Youth Buddhist Association (Jr. YBA) and Southern District Jr. YBL (Junior Youth Buddhist League).
Awards in high school include a first-place win in Marching Band (freshman year); nomination for Award for Mathematics (sophomore year), Award for English, and Instrumental Music, as well as Medal for Science Achievement at the North High School Achievement Awards (junior year). He has been on the Principal’s Honor Roll with distinction for six semesters in a row, with a GPA of 3.965. Ethan is also a member of the Peninsula Symphonic Winds at Harbor College.
His scouting journey started in Pack 1230. He bridged over to Troop 242 in the fifth grade. He has served as scribe, bugler, assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, assistant senior patrol leader, and senior patrol leader.
Ethan’s most rewarding experience in Troop 242 was the time as SPL, as it taught him so many essential skills in not just scouting, but life as well. He had to organize and conduct leadership meetings, plan fundraisers, reflect on troop events and work to improve the troop in the future, communicate between the leadership team and adult leaders, and so much more.
For his Eagle Project, Ethan constructed two percussion kit organizers for the Casimir Middle School Band Program. Before his project, the band program had grown to three times the size it had been when he attended Casimir as a student. Their classes always began with chaos, trying to get instruments from the one instrument closet and running into people rushing to get to their instruments first. With his percussion kit organizers, the wind instruments (flutes, saxophones, trumpets, etc.) were able to use the instrument closet while the percussion instruments could be reached separately. This made class setup a lot smoother and prevented any unnecessary arguments when retrieving instruments.
Ethan’s most unforgettable memory in scouting was his third Summer Camp in 2023 at Camp Big Horn when all the seniors were left alone at their camp. The younger scouts were all taking an overnight class and that left the rest of the senior scouts to do whatever they wanted at camp. They had so many Cup Noodles and simply let loose because they didn’t have to act super mature to set a good example for the younger scouts. Ethan never laughed so much in his life, seeing all his fellow leaders be completely themselves, since he always saw them acting so seriously. It was such a fun time to just hang out as friends, rather than as scout leaders.
As an Eagle Scout who is still actively involved in the troop, achieving this rank is not the end. The rank of Eagle is simply a role that must be upheld every day of your life. It is super prestigious for a reason. It is not a testament to what you have achieved, but who you have grown to become.